Sunday, September 6, 2009

Iftar Recipe | Samosa Recipe from India

Here are some little known facts about the Indian samosa that even I was not aware about until recently. Apparently there are variations of the samosa in other parts of the world.

Many believe the Samosa originated from Central Asia before the 10th century and made it’s way to India via the ancient trade routes. The Indian Samosa is the most famous from a family of filled pastries or dumplings which were popular from North Africa to West China. Ancient Arab cookery books refer to the Samosa as Sanbusak and this pronunciation is still used in Egypt, Syria and Lebanon. Today, the ease of travel and the cosmopolitan nature of our cities has made the Samosa a popular snack in many parts of the world.Source:http://www.samosa-recipe.com/Samosa_History.html

Today we feature an iftar recipe called the samosa. Samosas are a light pastry filled with a savory filling like vegetables or meat. Once you have tried the basic samosa recipe have fun creating fillings to suit your taste. This can be served as light snack or an appetizer. It is often served hot with a mint, tomato or tamarind chutney.

1) Brown the meat and set aside. Heat oil in a skillet or frying pan and add cumin seeds and cardamom pods and cook for one minute. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Reduce the heat and add the garlic and ginger paste. Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add curry powder and 3 more minutes so that the flavors are incorporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

2) Sift the flour, add the salt, baking powder (if you are using it) and work in the butter or Ghee. Add in half the water and mix to make a soft dough. Add the rest if you need to. Kneed the dough until it is soft and pliable. Roll out the dough to about a 1/4 inch and cut out in circles. Moisten the edges with water; put the filling in the center and fold into a triangle.

3) Heat oil to 350 and cook the samosas until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with Mint or Tamarind chutney. If you prefer baking, place the samosas on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. If you bake, the texture of the outside will not be as crispy as it should.